The enterprise networking industry is anticipated to witness growth owing to ongoing technological innovations in wireless LAN technology and high-speed Ethernet switches. Increasing shift towards wireless adoption, expanding the mobile workforce, rising bandwidth requirements and growing base of mobile internet devices are the key factors which are expected to drive demand
In enterprise segment, the role of networking remains indispensable as networking continues to be the backbone of any IT Infrastructure. Investment in developing a robust & secure network infrastructure is still a top priority for most business verticals be it Banking, Hospitality, Education etc. Today 10G infrastructure is being adopted by SME & Enterprise customers to get the maximum performance. So overall the opportunities in Indian networking segment are highly encouraging with huge market potential in both consumer & enterprise space. Sanket Kulkarni, VP – Channels (India & SAARC), D-Link excerpts, “Mobile device along with internet is bringing about sea-through change in consumer lifestyle segment. Connectivity has become the key, as people are constantly looking at ways to interacts & engage – with technology being the enabler.” This has resulted in huge demand for wireless networking equipment’s from both end-users & enterprises. The role of government is promoting technology adoption is also commendable. Broadband penetration in smaller & remote cities is driving demand for connectivity equipment’s across the country. According to Harshavardhan Kathaley, Director – Partner Sales, India & SAARC at Juniper Networks, “Networking hardware market is expected to be the next disruptor and the avenue for innovations as organizations look to conquer its space in this highly competitive, analytical and information driven world.”
India’s Networking Market…
Networking market in India is on growing stage, people are adapting to new technologies and are opting for High-end devices, which ultimately is leading to need of better Wi-Fi and powerful connection. People are more connected digitally now than ever. From last year 802.11n wireless standard to this year highly trending 802.11ac we have seen huge leap in Wireless world. According to a new IDC report, the networking market in India grew at 10.5% during the Q2 of 2016 as compared to last year. Banks upgrading its networks and spends increasing from automobile, education and professional services organizations were the key reasons behind the growth of switching market in this quarter, as per the report. As far as sectors shaping up the Indian networking hardware space are concerned, banking, automobile, education and professional services domains have accelerated the growth of switching market in this quarter. 4G rollout and expansion in the enterprise space, owing to professional services, banking and discrete manufacturing units. Giving more details on the trends, Lynn Wang, V.P. SOHO Business, TP-Link India says, “AC routers are gaining market presence now. As people have more devices supporting dual band functionality we are seeing new generation inclining towards this new trend. Also as people are going for bigger house and improvement in lifestyle Range Extender are picking up sales.”
Vertical wise, education has picked up in a big way, followed by Government and PSU. However, this has been an organic growth and we expect it will take another 2-3 years at least to see exponential growth in the networking space. One more product line, we have to give a credit for the growth of networking is surveillance and getting into that field is going to be the next step for all the networking vendors. On the enterprise networking front, we would say that we have seen growth in wireless controllers and that is mainly because there is a lot of requirement of wireless hotspots. Thus, that market has picked up a lot. There is talk about SDN platform in high end enterprise networking segment, however it’s still in a testing phase.
The Latest Trends…
It’s interesting times in India wherein technology is bridging the gap between rural & urban India, as it is driving business productivity and transforming day to day living. The role of technology in nation building remains significant, and the current governments Digital India initiative is an ambitious project that is set to fast track the growth momentum. Under Digital India program, government has set an ambitious plan to build 100 smart cities across the country. Further Rural Broadband for All, Universal Mobile Access, Wi-Fi in Varsities and Public Wi-Fi Hotspots are the core agendas of digitization program. As a result internet connectivity is going to be crucial, and therefore offering huge business opportunity for brand like ours. This is the reason, it is rightly said that with the kind of smart phone penetration, next only to China, this is the right time for Indian consumers to experience the connected world of Internet. Foreseeing the boost in manufacturing through Digital India initiatives, Mandar Joshi, Head – Channel Business, DIGISOL Systems explains, “‘Make in India’ and ‘Digital India’ initiatives are going to provide impetus to the complete economic chain of activities in the country. The IT hardware manufacturing Industry will have a major role to play here with Digital India Initiatives announced by the Government. The 9 pillars under the Digital India initiative are going to be huge demand generator.” DIGISOL has already launched indigenously manufactured “DIGISOL” branded Routers “DG-HR3400-I” & “DG-BG4300NU-I” and Networking Switch “DG-FS1008DG-I” under the Make in India initiative and have been receiving overwhelming response from the market.
With internet being omni-present and smart phones turning into a must have accessory, uninterrupted wireless connectivity is crucial. As a result adoption of 11AC technology – the latest standard in Wi-Fi, is on a rise. The fifth generation of Wi-Fi technology – 11AC, delivers incredible speed and wide area coverage of up to three times as fast as the current “N” Wi-Fi. And D-Link has already introduced a host of 11AC products. The recent noise around 4G is also driving demand for high speed devices.
Another technology that is gathering a lot of attention in recent times is – Web of things or Internet of Things (IoT). Moving forward, all device shall be interconnected & can be accessed from anywhere through the internet. Given the number of existing internet connected devices, IoT will act as an obvious extension for todays connected world. D-Link is already working on devices that are IoT enabled & has introduced a series of products based on IoT like Smart Plug, Audio Extender, Motion sensor etc.
There is an overall market growth happening due to improving technology awareness and need from the general Indian SMB, SME and SOHO markets. For example with increasing internet speed, we see more and more wireless coverage in the mid segment. Purpose-built 10 G solutions , for example 8 port 10G aggregator for media industry, are gaining ground. Talking about PoE driven surveillance solutions, Subhodeep Bhattacharya Regional Director, India & SAARC,NETGEAR opines, “PoE switches are seeing a huge growth which inturn is driving sales of switches, storage and wireless access products.”
Partners require Technical skill-set…
Channel partners should work with a vendor who can help them develop their solutions expertise, sales skills, and profitability. Channel partners should work with vendors who give good incentives for selling the vendor products and should help partners make money from vendor products. They should choose to work on solutions that are disruptive and that can be adopted well by the market. Channel partners should get the right level of guidance both from a programme and an enablement perspective. Srikanth Natarajan, Director, Channels & Alliances, India and SAARC, Brocade excerpts, “Brocade wants to hand pick partners across markets. We want partners who understand technology and who have the Datacenter DNA in them. We would like suitable partners across regions to take advantage of Brocade’s industry-leading solutions, training, and other programs to ensure they are competent in physical, virtual and hybrid solutions and don’t get left behind.”
As far as Juniper is concerned, over the last few quarters it has been making enhancement in the “JPA – Juniper Partner Advantage” program. We now have one of the best partner program framework which is simplified to cover all the partners’ viz. SI, VAR, Distributors, Services partner etc. While the program requirements are simplified, the partner benefits have been increased significantly on Rebates, Marketing Development Funds, Demo labs, Demand generation campaigns, Enablement & Training etc. These enhancements will make it easy for partners to work with Juniper & improve the returns from their Juniper business.
Finally…
Technology is constantly evolving so is the customer. It is imperative for partners to update themselves on new technology trends, understand customer buying pattern and look at offering a solution rather than a product. Partners should look at enrolling for various industry certification programs that will help them upscale their business.
